That Night with You by Alexandrea Weis Read Free Book Online Page B

the landscape and does
not detract from it. They want a natural-looking house that is also
modern in design and allows expansive views of the land from every
room. These clients have a great deal of money to spend, and
certainly want the house to reflect that wealth…but in a tasteful
way,” he added sarcastically. He stiffly shifted his hands behind
his back. “I would ordinarily give this to one of my more seasoned
architects, but I think I need a fresh approach with these people,
some new ideas. I thought perhaps I would let the two of you take a
stab at it. See what you come up with.”
    The excitement in Adam’s
twitching feet was almost more than Madison could bear. Could the guy be more obnoxious?
    “ Wow, that’s fantastic.”
Adam dashed to Hayden’s side, waving his hands about in the air. “I
have so many ideas, Mr. Parr. I know you’ll love them. I can see a
ranch exterior that perhaps opens up to a grand hallway
with—”
    “ That’s very ambitious of
you,” Hayden interrupted. “Don’t you think you should consult with
Madison first, since it will be both of your ideas?”
    Adam appeared surprised. “But I
thought we were competing against each other. You know, have the
best design wins kind of thing.”
    Hayden snickered. “That was not my
intention, Adam.”
    “ Why not have us compete
against each other?” Madison debated. “Might give you a better idea
of our design styles, and you will then have two plans to choose
from instead of just one.”
    Hayden’s eyes darkened as he pondered
the idea. “I usually don’t like pitting one architect against the
other. Are you are both all right with this?”
    “ Great. I’m in,” Adam said
with way too much exuberance in his voice.
    “ I’m game,” Madison
concurred.
    Adam rubbed his hands together and
turned toward his desk. “I can’t wait to get started on a
presentation for you.”
    “ Aren’t you forgetting
something, Adam?” Hayden questioned.
    “ What else do I need? You
already told me what the client wants.”
    Madison folded her arms over her
chest, displaying a smart grin. “The property, Adam. We need to see
the property. What good is designing a house to blend with nature,
if we don’t have any idea of the nature it is meant to blend in
with?”
    The smile that spread across Hayden’s
lips was absolutely stunning, awakening the sleeping butterflies in
her stomach.
    “ Very good, Madison. And
you’re absolutely right. You need to see the property.” He glanced
over at Adam. “Both of you.”
    Adam clapped his hands together and
the loud noise made the butterflies in her stomach take wing.
“Great. We can take a look at it whenever you like.”
    Hayden’s intense eyes crinkled up at
the sides as his grin widened. “How about now?”
    “ Okay,” Adam agreed with a
shrug of his shoulders.
    “ I have a car waiting
downstairs to take us to the property.” Hayden moved closer to
Madison’s side. “What do you say, Ms. Barnett, are you up for a
quick spin with me?”
    She leveled her eyes on him. “You
don’t play around, do you, Mr. Parr?”
    “ I like to cut right to the
chase, Ms. Barnett. Games are for cards, not people.”
    For an instant, her eyes
held his and the room around them disappeared. She remembered Harry
saying the exa c t
same thing to her so many years ago. It was Harry’s voice and
Harry’s words.
    “ Then let’s get this show
on the road,” Adam proclaimed.
    The sound of Adam’s voice grated
against her spine. Madison didn’t know how she was going to be able
to work side-by-side with her aggravating coworker without stabbing
her number two pencil straight through his ambitious little
heart.
    ***
    The black Town Car Hayden had hired
pulled up in front of a spacious wooded lot with thick oaks, a few
crape myrtle trees, and trails that cut through the high grass and
light brush. Named for the Turtle Creek that ran throughout the
exclusive neighborhood, any address in the affluent area